I'm about ready to start making my gourmet burgers but I need a little help. I'm mixing different types of ingredients into the ground beef then I'm freezing them. Does anybody have any idea about how much season salt I should use per lb of ground beef? And I'm sure the other ingredients can vary depending on preference but does anybody have any suggestions on how much cheese, onion, bacon, mushroom, etc I should use per lb? I also purchased a stand mixer because I'm going to be making so many different combinations so any suggestions on mixer speed or special attachments would be nice. Last but not least does any of my burger specialists know wat size burgers I need to make (in oz) to fit a Kaiser style bun appropiately. I'm cooking them on a flat grill using like 73/27 beef and I know the burgers like to shrink up on u and come off the grill looking like lil hockey pucks. Any and all advice you guys can offer will be so greatly appreciated.

You need to stop buying equipment and start buying the food items for your product. You need to cook, and cook, and refine your own ideas and own recipes. You figuare out what size bun you want to use, and how much meat, how thick, cooked at what temp gives you the taste and size for the product you want to serve.

Afterall, there is not any market for hockey pucks, they just don't sell well, customers don't come back.

You need to read and research in depth about meat, recipes, cooking tips. Ground meat gets tough when handled to much, such as a mixer paddles being used for meatballs, meatloaf or patties. Changes in the ingrediants when frozen. Freezing ????.

And take the food safety class, so you understand what you can & can't do. Become familiar with the regs in your area. In some areas will not permit household equipment in a commercial kitchen.

Personally, I think putting items inside the meat is not required for a good burger. What I would do, is find a good meat vendor that would be willing to do a custom blend of meat. For example, 60% chuck, 20% short ribs, 20% beef brisket. Plus make sure the vendor has taken care of following all the local health regs. As far as seasoning, salt and pepper is all you need. Just need to season right before cooking.

I would go with a 8oz burger, this way you can put a nice crust on the burger and still cook it medium rare and have it stay nice a juicy.

I would seriously not recommend freezing the burger, not as juicy when cooked.

There is a big debate between flat top and char broiler burger cooking method, both have their pluses and minuses. Personally I would use the flat top because the burger cooks in its juices where in a char broiler the juices fall through the grates.

Burger, aged cheddar, and applewood smoked bacon is a basic but awesome combo.

You need to stop buying equipment and start buying the food items for your product. You need to cook, and cook, and refine your own ideas and own recipes. You figuare out what size bun you want to use, and how much meat, how thick, cooked at what temp gives you the taste and size for the product you want to serve.

Afterall, there is not any market for hockey pucks, they just don't sell well, customers don't come back.

You need to read and research in depth about meat, recipes, cooking tips. Ground meat gets tough when handled to much, such as a mixer paddles being used for meatballs, meatloaf or patties. Changes in the ingrediants when frozen. Freezing ????.

And take the food safety class, so you understand what you can & can't do. Become familiar with the regs in your area. In some areas will not permit household equipment in a commercial kitchen.

I've already started buying all the food items neccesarry to make my burgers. I used about a lb of ground beef at a time in the mixer at a very low speed in like 3 to 5 second intervals. It did a better job than I expected and did not over mix the meat one bit. I made the burgers 6 oz and froze them in vaccum sealed bags. I took one out to cook today to test my shrinkage and it wasn't bad at all. Burger stayed nice and shaped, didn't fall apart, and was very juicy which probably had alot to do with the burger being stuffed with American cheese and bacon. My newest challenge is finding out the right temp for my flat grill. I had the temp on approx 350 but as the burger was cooking I felt as if the temp might have been a little high because it seemed to be cooking the outside much quicker than the inside. On the other hand, I felt the temp was a little to low after the burger had cook for about 5 mins because the temp of the grill had dropped so low that the burger was barely cooking. When I bought the grill I was aware of how food will drop the temp of the grill and also told them what I was trying to cook on it, how many hours, etc. and they made the claim that this commercial grill could get the job done. The only other issue I'm having is being able to test the internal temp of my burgers properly. For some reason I don't think I getting good readings.

So after a little research I've decided to prep all of my ingredients and make the burgers to order. With a meat scale and patty press it will only take me seconds to make and throw the burger on the grill.

you can make the patties daily. In a previous life we made our own patties first thing in the morning, lined them up on a sheet tray with liner paper underneath and on top. I like the ratio stated earlier regarding chuck and short ribs and brisket. Once I worked in a steakhouse where we cut our own steaks and used the ends of the tenderloins and ribeyes to make the burgers. The ratio was never the same, but it made a great burger.

Set the flattop at 350 and get a flat surface thermometer and keep it on the grill. Move it around during the shift to locate hot/cold spots. To check the internal temp of the burgers, remove the burger from the grill before you insert the probe. Temping it on the grill will give you a false reading. And for goodness sake DO NOT press the burger to make it cook faster. The juices inside the burger will get hot enough to cook the inside. Pressing it will only dry it out.